Bonnie Scott and her late husband Bill always wanted a close-knit family, but the way things turned out may have exceeded even their lofty expectations.
Nearly every weekday, Bonnie walks into an office building at 1817 Dogwood Drive in Kokomo and is greeted by her daughters Jennifer (Jenny) Bourff, Amy Campbell, and Debbie Scott Kakasuleff, or her son Mike Scott.

All of them are officers in the family business at Scott’s Home Healthcare.

“It all started with these two and my brother Jerry,” Mike Scott said, indicating sisters Jenny and Amy. “They were both RN’s who had worked in home healthcare, and Jerry had started his own business before, so he had the expertise on that side of things.”

Amy picked up the story.

“We were all celebrating my 40th birthday – I’m the baby of the family – and Jerry said that it was time for us to start a business together,” she said.
Amy became the chief administrator, while Jenny settled in as director of nursing. Jerry became the fledgling company’s CEO, a role he filled until he passed away early last month.

Mike Scott had been the company’s chief development officer, but has since assumed his late brother’s duties as CEO. Debbie helps run the accounting department.

Only Debbie’s twin brother Dennis, who works at Allison Transmission in Indianapolis, does not take part in the family business. However, even the Scotts’ extended family members are active in the company: Debbie’s husband Kenny serves as chief financial officer, while Amy’s husband Sean serves as office manager.

“Everybody does their part – it’s really amazing all the things that need to be done and there is someone who has the talent and skill to do them,” Jenny said.

Amy credits her mother with planting the seeds of the family business years ago.

“Growing up she always wanted us to be nurses,” Amy said. “She had worked in a hospital and genuinely valued the work that they did. There’s no question her influence led Jenny and I down this path.”

While their mother may have inspired their nursing careers, it was their father’s battle with lung cancer that shaped their approach to treating patients.
“During that time, he had hospice care, so I got an idea of what it was like to have someone come into your home and take care of your loved one,” Amy said. “It set the tone for how we wanted our business to operate.”

“Our motto is ‘our family taking care of yours’ and we really take that responsibility to heart,” Jenny added.

“Many people who have Medicaid do not know about our services or if they qualify,“ Jenny said. “All they need to do is give us a call and we can contact their doctor and see if they qualify and then we work out the details.”

Another large part of Scott’s Home Healthcare’s company mission, according to Jenny, is to supply jobs to people in the community looking for work.
“We have a home health aide certification program, which we administer whenever we need to deepen our pool of employees, but it is a unique opportunity in that it doesn’t entail the expenses that they would normally face,” she said.

Scott’s currently employs around 100 aides, but they expect that number to grow as the number of Medicaid patients needing in-home care continues to grow.

The state of Indiana even called to confirm the number of new employees was accurate.

“I think they were surprised we were growing when so many companies in the medical field are contracting,” Jenny said. “They asked why we were hiring so many people, and we said ‘well we need them.’ Rather than wait for someone certified to walk through the door, we teach them, train them, and get them certified.”

Prospective employees also must have a valid driver’s license and pass a criminal background check. The company is also eager to hire veterans whenever possible.

Governor Mike Pence recognized this fact at a ceremony in May when he presented Scott’s Home Health Care with the ESGR Above and Beyond Award. The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, or ESGR, recognizes employers who go above and beyond the legal requirements of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

“One of our prospective aides was getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan, but we put him through the certification so that when he came back he could jump right into a position as a scheduler,” Amy said. “He was the one who nominated us for the award.”

The secret of the company’s success all points back to the heart of the business: family.

“Some of us are family, but we try to treat all of our employees like family, too,” Amy said. “When you show people that you care and value them, you teach them how to be caretakers of others.”

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